If zeitgeist appeal were everything, “Beatriz at Dinner” would be an instant classic: this satire pits a hard-working immigrant against a table full of irritating rich people and the mega-wealthy real estate mogul to whom they’re all toadying. Somehow, the blistering comedy you would expect never quite manifests, and instead we get a lot of on-the-nose sermonizing and weak-tea social commentary.

The film’s failure to launch is all the more disappointing given the talent on both sides of the camera: screenwriter Mike White and director Miguel Arteta established themselves as masters of inappropriate dialogue and awkward pauses in 2000’s “Chuck and Buck,” a classic of squirmy, hilarious discomfort. Between those two and a sterling ensemble led by Salma Hayek, this “Dinner” should have been sharper and much funnier.

Hayek, to her credit, makes the most of this opportunity to play a decidedly unglamorous character, and she excels even when the film doesn’t. There could be YouTube supercuts of actors embarrassing themselves by awkwardly handling vacuum cleaners or lawnmowers on film — you can tell when a movie star hasn’t washed their own dishes or entered a grocery store in decades — but there’s never a false moment in Hayek’s untucked proletarianism.

Beatriz is a masseuse and spiritual healer (she’s got Buddha on the dashboard and the Blessed Virgin hanging from her rearview mirror) who works at an alternative clinic for cancer patients. She also takes private clients, like Cathy (Connie Britton), who brings Beatriz all the way down to her lavish beachside estate on the day that Cathy and her husband Grant (David Warshofsky, “Now You See Me”) are throwing a dinner party for some important guests.

Cathy is the sort of rich person who likes to think of employees like Beatriz as “one of the family,” particularly since Beatriz’s ministrations greatly helped Cathy’s college-age daughter. Naturally, when Beatriz’s car breaks down, Cathy immediately invites her to stay for dinner. Lawyer Alex (Jay Duplass) and his corporate wife Shannon (Chloë Sevigny) are merely awkward and condescending around Beatriz, but then the guest of honor turns out to be boorish, Trumpian land shark Doug Strutt (John Lithgow) and his third wife, Jeana (Amy Landecker) — and that’s when “Dinner” should be getting heated up.

After all, Beatriz’s small town in Mexico was destroyed by a real estate developer (who may or may not have been Strutt himself), and while the laid-back Beatriz tries to keep her mouth shut, the piggish classism on display pushes her to speak out time and again, as Cathy attempts to keep the peace.

There’s a great set-up here, although perhaps the material would be better suited for the stage, since one of the film’s flaws is that it never plays up the claustrophobia among these characters being forced to interact with each other. That set-up never blossoms into the pungent satire it wants to be, however, because the black hats and white hats have been so obviously delineated that any social commentary becomes utterly blunted.

And since neither the cinematography (by Wyatt Garfield, “Ping Pong Summer”) nor the editing (by Jay Deuby, “The Heat”) turn the screws on these characters or on the narrative, we never feel that frog-in-a-boiling-pot tension that a movie like this should build. Once everyone’s in place, there’s never the feeling that any of this is going anywhere interesting. (And while I won’t spoil the ending, it’s a particularly dissatisfying climax in terms of both storytelling and of the film’s messaging.)

The cast is blameless: besides Hayek’s intuitive work, Sevigny finds subtle ways to dig at her obliviously privileged character, and Landecker communicates the compromises and rationalizations of someone who has married for prestige. (Casting both Landecker and Duplass seems like an odd choice, however, since they very prominently play siblings on “Transparent.”) As Cathy, Britton comes closest to finding the film’s desired ill-at-ease tone, as the character’s desire to be woke conflicts with the requirements of her social standing.

The time is right for what “Beatriz at Dinner” has to say, but it says it in a way that’s so ungainly and uninvolving that there’s no point in listening.

11 Shows That Aren't About Trump -- But Totally Were (Photos)

It's tough to avoid the current political climate thanks to daily headlines that feel straight out of a reality show. TV series don't have to address a specific current event, but they can be inspiration for core themes concerning politics, feminism, ideology or any number of things. To put it simply, shows this year talked about President Donald Trump… even if they didn't do it directly.

CW/Getty/ABC

"Supergirl"The CW show is blunt about its ties to feminism. However, "Supergirl" stepped up its game in Season 2 with not-so-subtle jabs at the Trump presidency and the conversation around it, including one villain calling her a "nasty woman" and throwing "nevertheless she persisted" in as serious dialogue.

The CW

"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."The mid-season premiere kicked off with a what-if arc called "Agents of Hydra," which put the characters in a world where the supervillains were in control. Marvel drives home the comparisons to real world events by referencing the administration, with lines like "nevertheless she persisted" and "make society great again."

ABC

"Designated Survivor"It was a coincidence that the show about a White House in turmoil premiered before President Trump took office, but the drama has run with the changes. The show has countered the Trump presidency by writing a POTUS with American values front and center, while also showcasing politicians that put party and political linings over country.

ABC

"Gotham"

You wouldn't think a show about Bruce Wayne's pre-Batman days would be political, but the mayoral race in Gotham City prompted the show creators to throw in a Trump reference or two. In a campaign ad, Oswald Cobblepot (aka the Penguin) said that "he alone" can "make Gotham safe again" in a not-so-obvious jab at Trump's now-famous slogan.

Fox

"The Affair"The Showtime drama is about the lives of its characters in relation to each other, not the outside world. However, Season 3 has introduced real-world topics into the story. At one point, Helen Solloway (Maura Tierney) describes her reasons for not wanting to interact with somebody: "He voted for Trump."

Showtime

"The Good Fight""The Good Wife" spinoff changed dramatically the moment Trump was elected. The writers and producers wanted to address the changes in the Trump era, and have done that with episodes about fake news, a firm that was looking to hire more Trump-friendly representation, and one about censorship that was inspired by a "Law & Order: SVU" episode based on the President that has yet to air.

CBS

"Homeland"The female president in "Homeland" tackled some all too real controversies. In Season 6, she fought fake news and disinformation campaigns against certain countries. And President Elizabeth Keane (Elizabeth Marvel) faced off with a right-wing radio host modeled.

Showtime

"Veep"

A show as clearly about politics as "Veep" is can't get away with sidestepping a jab at the Trump presidency, even if they didn't set out to. When Selina (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) monitors the first open election in the Republic of Georgia, you can't help but think about Russia. That doesn't even take into account a pee joke that had to be cut because creators knew it would be compared to Trump.

HBO

"Scandal""Scandal" probably couldn't have made it through its most recent season without commenting on today's political climate. What better way to do that then to have a literal Trump stand-in? Hollis Doyle (Gregg Henry) is a Republican billionaire who doesn't like what he calls "border crossers." Sound familiar?

ABC

"Madam Secretary"The drama starring Tea Leoni generally remains bipartisan in its portrayal of politics. However, when you have the fictional Secretary of State dealing with a fictional Filipino president that sexually assaults women, has shady dealings with other countries and complains about fake news, the show appears to be saying something.

CBS

"House of Cards"The parallels between Trump and the show's President Underwood are pretty funny, but this latest season had the POTUS' family part of a misinformation campaign and fake terror plot and become the people of interest in a special committee investigation into their dealings. And they've also closed the borders and are the subjects of massive White House protests. Enough said.

Netflix

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They might not have referenced him directly, but it’s tough not to see the similarities

It's tough to avoid the current political climate thanks to daily headlines that feel straight out of a reality show. TV series don't have to address a specific current event, but they can be inspiration for core themes concerning politics, feminism, ideology or any number of things. To put it simply, shows this year talked about President Donald Trump… even if they didn't do it directly.

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap's lead movie critic, has written about film for Movieline, Salon, MSNBC.com. He also co-hosts the Linoleum Knife podcast and regularly appears on What the Flick?! (The Young Turks Network). Senior Programmer for the Outfest Film Festival in Los Angeles and a pre-screener for the Sundance Film Festival, he is also a consultant for the USA Film Festival/Dallas, where he spent five years as artistic director. A former arts and entertainment editor at the Advocate, he was a regular contributor to "The Rotten Tomatoes Show" on Current. He is the author of two books: "Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas" (Limelight Editions) and "101 Must-See Movies for Gay Men" (Advocate Books).